The spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire:
A network perspective
Thousands of men and women waiting on a big square, waiting for smoke to come out of the chimney and wondering: will it be black smoke or will it be white? When I paint this picture with only one sentence I think most people will know what I am talking about: the election of a new catholic pope. The fact that thousands of people will wait for this moment on a square, that millions of people will watch the event on television and that even more people know about this Christian event, says much about how widespread (catholic) Christianity is nowadays. But how could this have happened? Approximately two thousand years ago there was one man who began to tell the Christian story and despite all other religions people could have chosen in that time, in the end Christianity had by far the most followers.
How to contribute to this big question
A few big works have been written on the rise of Christianity. Already in the eighteenth century did Edward Gibbon write his famous work ‘The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire’ in which he devoted a chapter on the rise of Christianity. Gibbon saw five elements in the Christian religion which caused its success: the Christians' 'intolerant zeal'; the doctrine of immortality; miracles; the Christians' 'pure and austere morals'; and 'the union and discipline of the Christian republic'. Much more recently, Rodney Stark entered the field and used sociological theories to explain the success of Christianity. One of the core elements in the spread of a cult is, according to Stark, the network around the converter and the converted. Because both these influential scholars define the network around the cult as an element in its success, I think it is interesting to compare the Christian network with the network of another cult. In this way I will examine how the construction of the Christian network contributed to the longevity of Christianity.
An interesting cult to compare with Christianity is the imperial cult, the cult in which the emperor of the Roman Empire was seen as a deity. The imperial cult had a very different character than Christianity; where Christianity was a religion spread from below, the imperial cult can be seen as a political instrument imposed upon the people from above. Because of this different character there might also have been a very different network behind the cults. By comparing these networks it becomes possible to point out some elements in the Christian network which helped Christianity to stand the test of time.
An interesting cult to compare with Christianity is the imperial cult, the cult in which the emperor of the Roman Empire was seen as a deity. The imperial cult had a very different character than Christianity; where Christianity was a religion spread from below, the imperial cult can be seen as a political instrument imposed upon the people from above. Because of this different character there might also have been a very different network behind the cults. By comparing these networks it becomes possible to point out some elements in the Christian network which helped Christianity to stand the test of time.
The two main reasons of the success of the Christian network
The first reason is the different character of the cults and the political and social consequences this brought with it. The political and social environment made the Christian network much more robust when compared with the imperial cult. The reason behind this is that someone who joined the cult of Christ had much to lose by doing so, while in contrast the imperial cult caused possible problems by not joining it. Because the imperial cult was much more a mandatory element in the daily lives of the Roman citizens, is it plausible that they did not feel so much connected with the cult. The Christians, on the other hand, were seen as a threat to the religious stability and thereby possible victims of execution. One might understand that the feeling that they all faced the same reprisals will have strengthened the bond between the Christians.
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The second element in the success of the Christian network, was already foretold by Edward Gibbon. He claimed that the intolerant zeal of the Christians contributed to their success. When looking into the network of Christianity this intolerant zeal indeed played an important role. What Gibbon calls the intolerant zeal is the ideology of exclusivity: every Christian had to cease to worship to any other god than the Christian god. Therefore, entering the cult of Christ meant that you would cease to be part of the networks of the Roman (or other) deities. This would probably mean that you would also break off (some) relations with the people outside the cult of Christ. On the other hand, the imperial cult was much more intertwined with the politics and religion of the Roman Empire as a whole. The cult was therefore not as much as a network where relationships were maintained that could not have been maintained elsewhere.
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Conclusion
After looking at the two elements of the Christian network discussed above, I can return to the question addressed in the beginning. The Christian network was shaped by two important elements: the political and social consequences of joining the cult and the ideology of exclusivity. Because of these the aspects the participants had a relatively strong bond with each other and with the Christian cult when compared with the imperial cult, which caused Christianity to be more robust and gave it a higher chance to last for such a long time.
Further readings
Monographs on the subject of Christianity and the imperial cult
Bremmer, Jan Nicolaas, The rise of Christianity through the eyes of Gibbon, Harnack and Rodney Stark, Groningen: Faculteit Godgeleerdheid en Godsdienstwetenschap Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, 2010.
Stark, Rodney, The rise of Christianity: a sociologist reconsiders history, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996.
Taylor, Lily Ross, The divinity of the Roman emperor, Philadelphia: Porcupine Press, 1975.
For more detailed information
Harris, W. V. (ed.), The spread of Christianity in the first four centuries: essays in explanation, Columbia studies in the classical tradition, vol. 27, 2005.
Iossif, Panagiotis P., Andrzej S. Chankowski and Catharine C. Lorber (eds.), More than men, less than gods : studies on royal cult and imperial worship : proceedings of the international colloquium organized by the Belgian School at Athens (November 1-2, 2007), Leuven: Peeters, 2011.
Source of the image
Header: http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/JesusEvidenceHistorical.htm (accessed 11-06)
© 12-06-2013, S. v. D.
Bremmer, Jan Nicolaas, The rise of Christianity through the eyes of Gibbon, Harnack and Rodney Stark, Groningen: Faculteit Godgeleerdheid en Godsdienstwetenschap Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, 2010.
Stark, Rodney, The rise of Christianity: a sociologist reconsiders history, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996.
Taylor, Lily Ross, The divinity of the Roman emperor, Philadelphia: Porcupine Press, 1975.
For more detailed information
Harris, W. V. (ed.), The spread of Christianity in the first four centuries: essays in explanation, Columbia studies in the classical tradition, vol. 27, 2005.
Iossif, Panagiotis P., Andrzej S. Chankowski and Catharine C. Lorber (eds.), More than men, less than gods : studies on royal cult and imperial worship : proceedings of the international colloquium organized by the Belgian School at Athens (November 1-2, 2007), Leuven: Peeters, 2011.
Source of the image
Header: http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/JesusEvidenceHistorical.htm (accessed 11-06)
© 12-06-2013, S. v. D.